I Need You Now Be My Light
by Anri
Summary: Before Ion and the queens death, things go a little differently for Abel and Esther. This is my take on what happens after Esther joins AX and let us just say it's a lot different. Better than it sounds, trust me. AbelxEsther.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood or any of the characters.

Chapter One

Tomorrow Is Much Too Late

"Esther…?" Abel spoke quietly as they made their way back to the Vatican. It was a beautiful summer day and Esther had absolutely insisted that he join her for a little walk around outside.

"Yes Abel?" Esther asked, smiling brightly at him, that same bright smile that melted his heart. Ever since they returned from the empire, Abel and Esther had been a lot less formal with each other. They were becoming very close; Abel seemed to be attached to Esther's hip.

"What do you say we stop for a quick cup of tea before returning?" Abel asked, smiling gently at her, when in all seriousness he just wanted to extend his time alone with her like this.

"Of course Abel." Esther said with a bright smile that suddenly fell as she felt around in her small purse and she blushed a little. "It appears I don't have anything to pay with…" She sounded so disappointed, Abel just couldn't have that.

"Don't be ridiculous! The tea is on me!" Abel said with his classical feather brained smile plastered to his face. He mentally sweat dropped as he knew he just barely had enough to pay for them both, he was really cutting it close this time. The bright happy smile that returned to Esther's face made it all worth it though.

"How kind of you Abel." Esther said taking his arm as he led her to a small tea shop. Such was becoming routine, Esther would find some excuse for them to go out and Abel would end up treating her to tea before returning to their duties at the Vatican.

The waitress knew the couple well and led them to their usual table towards the back. They didn't even need to order, for they ordered the same thing every time.

"We really need more days like this…" Esther said quietly. Abel nodded his agreement, as a comfortable silence settled between them.

"Here you go." The waitress said cheerfully handing Esther her tea and then Abel his with a considerably greater amount of sugar in it.

"Thank you Jessica." Esther said with a warm smile. The waitress smiled and headed back to the counter.

"This tea is always so good!" Abel said excitedly after taking a sip of his tea.

"I know, I wonder what their secret is…" Esther pondered out loud. With that they finished drinking their tea, talking about everything and nothing. They had learned a lot about each other this way, but there was still a lot that was left unsaid.

"We should get going." Abel said almost sadly attempting to get out of his chair, but failing and somehow tripping and landing on the ground. Esther was up in a flash and by his side.

"Are you alright?" Esther asked worriedly, helping Abel to sit.

"Yes, yes of course! Silly old me tripping, I'm fine!" Abel said flustered, waving his hands in front of his face. Esther smiled and straightened Abel's glasses as that had fallen crooked when he fell. Standing up, she offered her hand and helped the tall silver haired priest back on his feet.

"Thank you." Abel told Esther, as he went to the counter and spent what little he had left to pay for their tea. He was beginning to wonder how he was going to be able to afford to do this every week.

The sun was setting, assaulting the sky with purple and pink and then to black. Upon reaching the Vatican, Abel walked Esther to her room.

"Good night Esther, I enjoyed our walk today." Abel said, smiling gently at her.

"I did too." Esther replied smiling that same heart melting smile. "Good night Abel, see you tomorrow morning." With that said Abel nodded and turned as Esther closed her door and prepared for bed.

Abel was smiling as though he had just received all the sugar in the world when he reached his room. He always enjoyed spending time with Esther, but had yet to admit to her just how much he really enjoyed it. He could no longer deny he cared for her a great deal, but it would be awhile before he would tell her as such.

Esther had just crawled into bed and had almost fallen asleep when she heard someone creep into her room. Frightened she remained still, only moving to reach for the gun she kept on lock under her mattress.

"Abel…?" Esther called, the fear evident in her voice.

"Not quite…" A deep voice replied, grabbing her quickly but not before she fired a shot. The figure dodged easily and hit Esther on the back of the head to knock her out. She gasped in pain and fell limply into the figures arms.

Abel had heard the shot fire from Esther's room, he had been awake in his room thinking things over, and with out hesitation he was at her door. He swung the door open, and looked around for Esther, but she was no where to be found. Her bed sheets were twisted and in a mass on the floor. All that remained was her gun and a small note.

The other members of AX had also heard the shot and an array of obscenities could be heard from Father Leon as they gathered outside to door to see what had happened. The sight that met them was enough to chill even the most jovial of spirits.

Abel was standing with his back to them, he fist clenched around the note. He didn't even acknowledge his colleagues as he turned and pushed out the door past him, leaving the crumpled note in his wake. No one dared to speak, and Caterina could be seen coming up the stairs only to be completed ignored by Abel as he made his way down.

"What has happened here…?" Caterina said sternly, picking up the note. The other members gathered around her as she read the note aloud in a questionable voice.

_My Dear Brother,_

_We have matters to discuss… _

_Also, if you wish to see your precious star of light again, it would be prudent to come alone…_

_C._

"Do we…?" Leon began, only to be cut off by Caterina.

"No, if we interfere Esther may be put in even more danger… We must let Father Nightroad handle this one… If he fails… Then we have no choice but to take action…" Caterina replied, waving her hand dismissively and going back to her own room.

**Author's Note:**

Yea, my other AbelxEsther fic has hit a road block, and this plot came to me during a very long car ride, so I figured I would start it out and see where it goes. No they have not met Ion and I don't know that I will even include him in this fic. The old queen is still alive, and Cain came looking for Abel. I'm just making details up as I go, so don't hold me to the series too much here. As always, review and let me know what you think. Also, forgive any errors that slip my eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood, or any of the characters.

Chapter Two

Worry Runs through My Heart like a Knife

Abel was infuriated as he left the Vatican, how dare his brother involve Esther. _His_ Esther. Cain always knew exactly what buttons to push to have Abel come running to him.

"Matters indeed…" Abel thought disgruntled, the happy care free priest completely gone from him. The only reason Cain would want to see him would be to try to manipulate him to join his side. It was only a matter of time before Cain would try to start another war with the Terrans, and now was the beginning sign.

Abel didn't even have to think to know he would never join his brother now. _I will stay on the side I should have been on since the beginning… Lilith…_ Abel thought to himself, if and only if Esther was threatened would he find a temporary to join Cain. Only after she was out of harms path would he find a way to drop his connection to Cain's plan.

Abel knew exactly where he was going, and knew that the other members of AX wouldn't dare interfere, besides from the fact they wouldn't know where to start unless he told them.

A hard smack resounded through a stone room, looking much luck under ground catacombs. Esther whimpered as the figure in shadows made to swing at her again.

"That is enough Dietrich…" The said figure in the shadows smirked and stepped forward.

"Di… Dietrich..!?" Esther gasped out; she struggled against her bonds knowing it would have been useless. Her knees scraped against the cold stone floor as her hands were tied above her head.

"Are you sure master Cain? There is no reason we can't pretty her up some more for your brother…" Dietrich said, still with a malicious grin on his face. Esther couldn't even find her voice to question why they were doing this to her, but from what she heard she knew Abel was coming for her.

"Come now, I don't want him to be too angry with me when he gets here…" Cain said evenly, from the door way. Slowly he walked in and kneeled in front of the shaking girl. Esther flinched away, but Cain grabber her by the chin and made her look at him. He seemed to be trying to read her mind, to look into the depths of her soul. In all reality he was scaring the hell out of her.

Finally, after what seemed like ages to Esther, Cain released her face and stood leaving the room in silence. Dietrich said not a word, nor even gave Esther a passing glance as he followed his master out of the room.

Esther was thoroughly confused and let a few pent up tears escape. She never really understood Dietrich much less Cain, just what were they trying to do now? Apparently Cain needed some kind of pack mule to do his dirty work. Of course, why would he do it himself when he could have the only Terran on the Rozen Kreuz Orden do it for him. He must have something big planned indeed. Why would he involve Abel?

Esther sighed and let her head hang; she was far too tired to really think about this right now. There wasn't anything she could do about it considering her current situation. _ Abel… _She thought sadly, knowing that this wouldn't turn out well for him. _If only I had fired my gun sooner or screamed maybe…_ Esther thought hopelessly, but she knew in the back of her mind that she was no match for Dietrich. Even if by some lucky chance she had defeated him, Cain would have gotten her anyway. Inevitably she would have ended up here.

Down the hallway, Esther could hear voices but it was hard to make out what they were saying, tears continued to roll down her cheeks, it had been awhile since she had been worked up like this. Everything was just too much; it was getting harder to keep conscious with the space so enclosed, so she just gave in.

Abel had just reached the catacombs; he wasn't particularly interested in finding Cain. His main concern was getting to Esther, but she could be locked in any one of the tombs. If he called out, it would be a dead give away assuming they didn't already know he was there. _Just hold on Esther…_ Abel thought, taking a turn down one long hallway and looking into every tomb he could.

"He's here… Master should I…?" Dietrich began, having watched Abel enter through a small hidden camera.

"No… Let him find his girl first… It will make things all the harder if he's worrying about how to get her out…" Cain said, an almost smug smile on his face.

"Oh Esther…" Abel said, with relief only to have a new concern come into his mind. She had a scratch along her cheek and a few bruises. He could almost feel the fire burning in his eyes. _That filthy… How dare he lay so much as a finger on her…_

During his hours of searching Abel had managed to calm down, but now all the anger and fury resurfaced and he wasn't sure he would be able to control himself. He pulled the heavy stone door opened the rest of the way as though it were nothing. There was a small crack in the ceiling letting minimal amounts of air in.

"Esther… I'm so very sorry…" Abel said untying her hands and taking her into his arms. "Can you hear me…?" It broke his heart to see her in such a condition, and all because of him.

"Abel…" Esther mumbled sleepily, weakly opening her eyes half way. "You came… you came for me…" The relief in her voice was evident, as she smiled tiredly at him.

"Of course I came Esther, d… don't be silly…" Abel said, trying to return her smile. She didn't seem to be in too bad of shape, but it was clear that she needed to rest.

"I'll take care of you now… Don't worry anymore." Abel said, as Esther relaxed into his embrace, seeming to fall back asleep. _Some fresh air will also do her a world of good…_ He barely had time to finish that thought as his head snapped up to the sight of his brother.

"How touching… Really…" Cain said, his stance portrayed the arrogance he clearly held. Abel growled, instinctively pulling Esther closer to him. Cain heard him mumble under his breath and smirked as Abel wasted no time in changing into Crusnik.

"Is that really necessary… I only brought you here to talk…" Cain said, toying with him slightly. It took all Abel had to just kneel there and hold Esther instead of charging and wiping that stupid look of his brother's face.

"I know why you brought me here, and you should know better…" Abel's usually calm and gentle voice had turned rough and metallic along with his defying gravity hair and long talons. He kept his wings tucked behind him as if just waiting to attack.

"So you won't join me..?"

"I will not!" Abel snapped back. He knew exactly why Cain had asked him here, he would not join his side in a fight to destroy the Terrans. He wanted to kill his brother so badly, he could hardly keep his priorities on protecting Esther, but the sight of her unconscious in his arms was enough to solidify his resolve.

"What a pity…" Cain said shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"Then I suppose you may have them Dietrich, they are clearly against us…" Cain dismissively waved his hand as Dietrich stepped forth from behind him grinning like a mad man.

Abel could barely contain his rage as Cain left the room, he growled moving Esther behind him as Dietrich swung maniacally sending his manupiluation wires at Abel in attempts to gain control of him. Abel dodged having only one wire connect to his left arm.

Grimacing in pain at the electric shock, Abel kept charging at Dietrich slashing with his right arm sending them both crashing through the stone wall as though it were styrofoam. There was no blood, so Abel was unable to conjure up his scythe. His main objective was to get Dietrich as far away from Esther as possible.

Dietrich took control of Abel's left arm, forcing it behind his back and throwing him off balance while sending out more control wires. Abel growled as he dove forward with his right shoulder getting his claws ready for another attack. With his hair flying behind him as he drove ahead; Able took another deadly slash at Dietrich.

Dietrich moved backwards, a look a minor frustration on his face as Abel cut through the wires restraining his left arm only to be hit in the right leg by the next onslaught.

"Is that the best you can do?" Dietrich teased, sending a powerful shock through the wires. Abel was unable to withstand it and went down on one knee, looking up as Dietrich sent more of those accursed wires towards him. Mentally cursing Able knew he had to get Esther out of here and to a safe place.

Growling again Abel thrashed around slashing the wires restraining him and managing to cut Dietrich across the cheek in his fury. All of the sudden Dietrich just stopped and reached up to touch the bleeding gash that had been inflicted upon him. No longer was his face perfect, he stared at the blood on his gloved hand, before his face distorted in rage. By the time he reacted Abel had already gone, but he sent one final strain of wires in attempts to finish the battle here.

Using Dietrich's distraction Abel quickly picked up Esther and bashed through the using the crack in the ceiling to make it give way. He looked back to see Dietrich had made one final attempt to reach him, but he had already flown out of reach.

It was pitch black out, Abel was surprised at how long it had taken him to find Esther down there, and the length of the fight; but the night air was soothing. His left shoulder was bleeding as was his leg from the wires ripping into him. Reaching the Vatican Abel stumbled onto Esther's balcony.

With out any blood it was taking his wounds much longer to heal. Esther was just coming around as he laid her on the balcony floor. Abel walked to the railing and leaned heavily on it, his brow furrowed. He didn't turn until he felt a light touch on his arm. Slowly, knowing it was Esther, he turned to face her.

Abel didn't have time to react as Esther threw herself into his arms. It wasn't as though this was the first time she had seen Crusnik, but he still expected her to run away screaming from him.

"I'm so glad… so glad you are alright…" Esther said. Ignoring the pain, Abel hugged her back holding her tightly. Reeling forward into her, his hair fell, and his eyes returned to their peaceful blue color.

Esther was hardly capable of holding him up, much less moving him. With a little cooperation on his part she managed to lay Abel down on her bed. She went to get supplies to heal him, but he had grabbed her wrist.

"I will be fine… Just… stay with me…" Abel said looking up at her through half opened eyes. He had not returned his glasses to his face, and his hair was sprawled around him. Esther blushed slightly; worried about him, but none the less lay down beside him. Her blush deepened as he wrapped his arm around her pulling her to his side.

Despite her current situation, Esther found it was unusually easy to fall asleep like this. Abel closed his eyes, keeping a tight hold on her. Things were about to get very ugly for them, and he wasn't about to let Esther leave his side for anything. He cared about her far too much to have her stolen away again. _Just like… No…_ He wouldn't think that way. Lilith was his past, and his future, he decided, was sleeping peacefully beside him.

**Author's Note:**

I'm not too great a writing fight scenes if you haven't noticed. I hope this is acceptable and that you enjoyed reading. Yea, there's a lot more to come, hellish it may be, but I'll try not to disappoint. I tried to slow this one down a bit. As always let me know what you think and thank you for all reviews. Also, forgive any errors that slip my eye.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood or any of the characters.

When was the last Time I held you all through the Night

Abel awoke wearily the next morning, still holding Esther firmly to his side. Looking down he sighed contentedly at the red head sleeping on his shoulder. Closing his eyes again, he exhaled deeply. It was just before sun rise, and an orange-ish pink hue simmered along the tree line.

Abel felt Esther wake up beside him and faked sleeping, having a hard time keeping his face straight. _How improper…_ He thought, imagining the blush that would be on her beautiful face once she realized where she was.

"Oh…" Esther gasped softly, noting that they were both fully clothed, and that he still had his arm around her. It took only a second for the events of the past day to come crashing back into her mind.

"Abel?" Esther called quietly.

"Hmmm," Abel replied opening one eye to look at her, a playful smile coming to his face.

"So you are awake," Esther said, about to scold him for fooling her. Her visage quickly fell into one of worry as she asked, "Are you alright? How do you feel?"

"I'm just fine Esther," Abel replied sitting up to look at her. "How do you feel?" He cupped her cut cheek in his hand, tracing his thumb gently across it. Esther blushed slightly but seemed content none the less.

"I'm ok," Esther said allowing that same smile that easily melted his heart to grace her face.

That above all else made it all worth it. It was these rare moments, where it was only the two of them, that they were able to forget about being proper and conservative. Esther tilted her head slightly as she watched Abel start laughing at their situation. So free, relaxed, no glasses, no hair tie, it was so casual. Esther found herself laughing as well.

"Can you imagine Caterina's face if she were to see us like this?" Abel was chuckling, attempting to get up only to fail and fall out of the bed. Esther immediately stopped laughing and leaned over the edge of the bed to see if he was alright.

"Abel? Are you alright?" Esther was getting slightly concerned when he just laid there on his back, then suddenly out of no where he pulled her off the bed and tickled her. Esther's eyes widened in surprise as she was ambushed and brought down. She rolled around trying to get away from him, but was laughing too hard; finally she retaliated tickling him back.

In his moment of paralyzed laughter, Esther got up and took off running around her large room. Abel was up in a flash and caught her after a minute or so by jumping over the bed, simply holding her there in his arms while they recovered from their laughter.

It was then that Esther looked up into his eyes smiling, a light blush on her cheeks. Abel returned her gaze, and the moment was ruined by a knock on the door. Both Esther and Abel fell deathly silent.

"Esther! It's Leon, I was sent to, you know; make sure that both you and Father Nightroad had made it back alright." Esther looked horrified; surely they would have just waited for them to report to Caterina, this must have been some sort of joke. With out another word Esther shoved Abel into her closet with an apologetic look.

"YES! Yes, we made it back just fine!" Esther replied as she openedthe door, but making sure to block Leon's path into her room.

"Are you sure? You were…" Esther sweat dropped as it sounded as though a ton of boxes had just been knocked down in her closet, the sound causing Leon to trail off and look at said closet curiously. _Oh honestly…_ She thought, hoping Father Leon wouldn't ask about it, but unfortunately, he wasn't deaf. "…what was that?"

"What was what?" Esther asked innocently, and the sound was heard again.

"That…"

"Oh! That! Why it's nothing!" Esther waved her hands in front of her face as if to appear more convincing. "I just… when Father Nightroad brought me back, I went through some of my old things and the boxes... I was trying to balance them when you knocked… they must have… fallen…." Esther had an unconvincing smile on her face as she rambled out whatever nonsense she could.

_I've never seen someone get so worked up over cardboard boxes…_Leon thought, watching her suspiciously. "Then let me help you pick them up."

"NO!" Esther almost yelled, taking a minute to regain her composure. "No thank you. I was just getting ready to get washed up, I'll deal with them later…"

"Well alright then…" Leon said, a wicked grin coming to his face as he turned. "Just tell Abel I'll see him around when you see him." Esther nodded and shut the door quickly, blushing. _Does… he know? Is that why he came here, because he already checked Abel's room? _She wondered, and then remembered that Abel probably was in quite a predicament.

"Abel are you alright?" Esther quietly opened the closet doors, looking down at him waiting for an answer. The sight that met her would have been hilarious if she hadn't been so worried. Abel was sprawled on the closet floor with a shoe box on his head, the other boxes piled on top of him. Well, at least she hadn't completely lied, the boxes had fallen.

"Yes, yes! I'm fine just a little… er… cardboard cut," Abel replied removing the shoe box from his head with a feather brained smile.

Esther smiled at him and nodded offering her hand to help her clumsy silver haired priest back to his feet.

"It must be time for breakfast," Esther said slowly. Maybe that hadn't been found out just yet, Father Leon would always come and make sure Esther was awake if she was late for breakfast. It wasn't completely suspicious; they probably wanted to see if that had even made it back at all. She was just being paranoid, worried that tis new found closeness would have to end if the other members of AX found out about it.

"Good, I'm starving!" Abel was excited as he spoke, and the stresses of yesterday and last night seeming to just float right out the window. Esther almost hated to leave the room and end this openness between them. She knew that the second they were in the vicinity of the other AX members they would have to retain a certain distance between one another in order to remain professional.

Pulling his glasses from his coat pocket, Abel was about to walk right out the door.

"Hold on," Esther said grabbing him by the hand and making him sit down at her vanity. Abel looked a bit confused as to what she was doing, but smiled almost blushing as he watched her pull a black ribbon out of one of her drawers. Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair and tied it up the way he usually wore it.

Abel lifted his gaze to look at Esther in the mirror to see that she had averted her eyes to the floor, and was still blushing a little.

"We can't have you let your appearance slip," Esther said brightly; smiling at him as he turned in the chair to look at her.

"I suppose that wouldn't be very good would it, thank you Esther." Abel's voice was gentle as he went to the door and held it opened for her. "Shall we?"

Esther nodded and walked out the door. Abel offered her his arm, not caring who saw or what they would think. He knew that Cain would be very displeased that Dietrich had let them get away, and he was going to enjoy this time with her while it lasted. Esther accepted the gesture with a smile, and held lightly to his arm as they made their way to the dining hall.

Meanwhile, Dietrich could be seen beaten and left in a dark room.

"I didn't leave you to handle my brother and that little girl if I had meant for them to get away. You have failed me…" Cain said disappointed. "If I want something done correctly, I suppose I will just have to do it myself." Dietrich said nothing, but knew Cain was still just outside the door.

Dietrich had known he would be punished for failing like that, but thought the loss of his perfect face was punishment enough. He would get Abel Nightroad for this disgrace, and he knew just how to do it.

"Perhaps you have not completely failed me… I may have a use for my brother yet, so long as you do not fail me again… I may be able to remedy this…"

"I will not fail you again…" Dietrich said calmly.

"I'm not giving you a choice…" Cain said, unlocking the door and letting Dietrich free.

**Author's Note:**

Just a little fun and a lot of blushing before I really get things going, just trying to show how much their relationship has evolved here because it's pretty much an unsaid agreement they like eachother right now. The next chapter will have more action, and get into the plot a little more. Either way, I hope you enjoyed. As always review and let me know what you think, and thank you to all who have reviewed thus far. Also, forgive any errors that slip my eye.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood or any of the characters.

Her Most Beautiful Smile

Abel and Esther made their way into the dining hall receiving curious glances. Of course the other members of AX weren't blind; they could clearly see that the two had grown closer together. Abel continued to smile and laugh as Esther talked about spring time, and some of her favorite things to do.

No one said anything as they passed to sit down at a vacant table by the windows. Breakfast went by with out a hitch, even in the company of his colleagues Abel was still on edge, waiting for anything to go off.

"Abel?" Esther's voice brought him out of his daze.

"Yes, Esther?" Abel smiled at her, trying to cover up for his distraction.

"You seem worried, are you alright?" Esther tilted her head to one side. _Can she easily see through me now?_ Abel thought, smiling still.

"I'm fine Esther, just enjoying the lovely view outside." Abel returned his gaze to the window, holding his smile in place. Esther didn't seem to buy it, but she didn't question him any further.

"We should probably report to Caterina," Esther said quietly. Abel nodded as he got to his feet, miraculously without falling. He could tell the other members were watching them both out of the corner of their eyes. It didn't matter; he knew Cain would be after them again, so why worry about trivial things like that.

Abel hardly realized it when they had already made their way to Caterina's office.

"Come in," came Caterina's stern voice as Esther knocked on the door.

Once inside, Abel and Esther explained the events that had occurred over the past night and day of Esther' abduction, leaving out that they had spent the night together as innocent as it may have been.

Caterina dismissed Abel and Esther after they had recapped everything, leaving them to do as they pleased for the rest of the day.

"Let's walk," Esther more commanded than anything. Abel smiled if all but a bit nervously, but complied by following her outside into the bright sun light.

They made their way to the streets walking side by side.

"So, why don't you tell me what's really bothering you," Esther said almost somberly. Abel finally let his cheerful expression slip; clearly he had not convinced her that he was fine.

Abel stopped walking and reached out to put his arm around Esther's shoulders and draw her close to his side.

"It is because I am worried about you," Abel admitted.

"I'm perfectly fine…"

"For now," Abel replied cutting her off. What if I fail to protect you and Cain gets you again?" Esther allowed a light blush to paint her cheeks a lovely shade of pink.

"I'm not worried," Esther said averting her gaze to the ground as she stepped as close to him as space proximity would allow.

Abel smiled, and shook his head saying, "you put too much faith in me I'm afraid."

"Don't be silly." Esther looked up to him with a heartwarming smile.

It was unusual; the streets were very empty for this time of the morning. It was common to see the streets bustling with people. Abel was beginning to tense up as he wrapped his arms tightly around Esther and simply stood there in silence. Why had he not noticed this before?

Esther went stiff, listening for any sound at all.

The events that happened next unfolded too quickly for Esther to really register. Abel whipped around keeping Esther behind him as two dark figures came rushing out of the alley ways and a shot was fired.

"Abel!" All that was heard through the empty streets was Esther's scream and the shifting of feet across the stone roads.

Everything went black for the young nun as she felt a hard hit to the back of her head that knocked her off of her feet. She never felt the ground greet her, but instead two strong arms, and that was the last she remembered.

When Esther woke up, she shot up, only to regret that decision by holding a hand to her head as dizziness accosted her. Looking around, she was surprised to find that she was back in her room. It appeared mid-afternoon. She was suddenly very tense; she couldn't see Abel anywhere in the vicinity, only Father Tres standing with his back to her facing the door.

"Status report Sister," Tres said in his usual monotonic android voice.

"I'm fine. Where is Abel?" Esther stood slowly from the bed testing her feet, before walking over to the door where Tres stood.

"Father Abel Nightroad was in need of repairs. It was estimated that he would be returned to full functioning capacity." Tres didn't seem to really be looking at Esther as he spoke, but more to the wall behind her. "I was instructed to make sure you were alright and then direct you to the infirmary."

Esther let out a sigh of relief, Abel was alright, and she had escaped with just a bump on the head.

"Tres what happened after I…?" Esther didn't have time to finish her question before Tres was answering her.

"You will be informed once in the presence of Abel Nightroad." Tres said mechanically turning and walking out the door to lead Esther to the infirmary.

Esther looked around noticing there was really no one around, they were probably all busy with this recent attack. Whatever was going on, Cain was wasting no time in ruining the peace that remained in their lives.

Tres opened the door to the infirmary and let Esther enter alone. Looking over her shoulder, Esther had expected her android companion to follow her inside. With a sigh; she walked in and headed down a long hallway lined with rooms.

"There you are Sister Esther," Sister Kate said coming out from the last room on the left side of the hall. "Father Nightroad has been waiting for you." With that said, Sister Kate left the infirmary leaving Esther in her wake.

"Esther?" Abel was sitting up in his bed, watching with an almost tense look in his eyes as Esther entered the room.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Esther made her way over to Abel quickly, and sat down on the side edge of his bed gently taking a hold of his hand. He was bandaged up, probably from both the old and new wounds inflicted upon him. His glasses were sitting on a table near the bed with a pitcher of water. Reaching up, she lightly ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it back out of his face.

"I'm alright," Abel told her soothingly, the tense look seeming to dissipate with Esther here. "Are you alright? You took quite a hit there."

"Yes, just a little sore that's all." Esther smiled; it was a mixture of happiness, relief, comfort, and love. It was the most beautiful thing Abel Nightroad had seen in a very long time. "What happened?"

"It was a warning from Dietrich. This little ambush is his way of keeping us on our toes, because he plans to retaliate soon." Esther nodded as Abel finished speaking. The calm look faded from his face and he sighed, gripping Esther's hand a little tighter. Though she noticed he didn't go into the details of what happened during this little fight, she would let it go for now. "What am I going to do with you?"

"What do you mean?" Esther was confused now, and it showed blatantly through her innocent blue eyes.

"I don't know what is safer or worse for you; to leave you with me or to trust the other members of AX to take care of you." Esther tried to interrupt only to be silenced by him continuing before she could get a word in. "Dietrich will do anything to make up for what has happened. He knows…" Abel trailed off, not knowing if he should tell her this now or wait, but there was no time like the present especially when anything could happen now. "…he knows the easiest way to manipulate me is to get to you."

Esther gasped lightly; she had suspected that there was a great feeling forming between them, but not quite like this.

"I would do anything to keep you out of danger, to protect you from Cain's evil. I would give anything… I would… I…" Abel sighed, his words fleeing him yet again. It didn't matter now, all was in the open.

Esther smiled sweetly and leaned forward, hugging Abel gently. His eyes widened slightly, he should be used to her displays of affection by now, as he had basically just told her that he felt the same. None the less, he wasted no time in wrapping his arms around her to return the gesture.

"Please don't send me away," Esther pleaded quietly, resting her chin on Abel's shoulder. How could he refuse her, he felt a pain in his heart at the thought of leaving her anywhere even with his trusted colleagues.

"I won't," Abel said gently running his fingers through her hair. "When the time comes to act, and defeat Cain once and for all you must promise me that you will stay safe."

"As long as you promise me you'll come back," Esther replied.

"I promise Esther."

"Then I promise too," Esther said, curling up to his side. Abel tightened his hold around her. All of this stress and worry was taking its toll on the both of them. He didn't want Esther to have to be afraid like this anymore.

As soon as he was well, Abel knew he would set off to destroy Dietrich and Cain. The rest of AX could take out the other members of the Rosen Kruez Orden; maybe he could reveal himself to Seth and ask for her help.

Exhaling deeply, Abel closed his eyes and allowed his head to lean against Esther's as he laid back. For now they both could use some rest, there was always later to plan a course of action.

**Author's Note:**

Alright, next chapter will be the plan and starting the execution of said plan. Chapter after that will be the full execution of the plan and perhaps the results. The chapter after that will be the wrap up lest I decide to write a whole lot then it may only be two chapters. Sorry for the delayed update, but things are crazy with Jurys and Finals. As always, review and let me know what you think, and forgive any errors that slip my eye.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood or any of the characters.

With the Power to Destroy

When Esther awoke the next morning she was still in the infirmary, but Abel had disappeared on her.

"Good morning Sister." Esther turned to face the door as Sister Kate walked in. She smiled at Esther's confused look. "Nothing to worry about, Father Abel went to discuss the past few days with Lady Caterina. He didn't want to wake you."

"Oh… okay." Esther smiled and nodded, climbing out of the bed. Sister Kate left to check in on the other patients while Esther went to freshen up for the day.

Freshly showered and with a clean blue dress, Esther walked out of her room and down stairs. Her delicate fingers slid down the wooden hand rail.

"Ouch!" Esther hissed in pain as she pulled her hand away from the railing as though she had been shocked. There had been a rough spot on the railing that had embedded a rather large splinter into her index finger. With a small twinge of pain she pulled the splinter from her finger and looked at it momentarily before letting it fall to the floor. It was strange how something so little could evoke memories long forgotten.

Esther remembered a time while she was still in the orphanage and she had gotten a splinter. One of the sisters warned her that it may hurt a bit, and how she had started balling before the sister had even touched her finger. A small smile came to Esther's face as the memory came to her in full.

_"Goodness child, what is the matter," the Sister had asked gently._

_"I just know it's going to hurt," young Esther replied with tears rolling down her cheeks._

It was the smell of brunch being served that returned Esther to the present as she entered the dining hall. Sitting alone for once, she ate quickly not bothering a second glance to anyone. She wanted to find Abel to see if he and Caterina had devised a plan. Not only that, but she longed to be in his presence again.

Turning a corner Esther almost bumped into Tres, startled at his sudden appearance she stumbled backwards a little.

"Hello Tres."

"Sister Esther Blanchett, you are to initiate in following me to Abel Nightroad."

"Lead the way," Esther said with a small smile.

Within a few minutes Tres had led Esther to Abel's room. She had been there on several occasions to share tea with him, or simply just talk.

"Mission complete," Tres said mechanically and turned to walk away, leaving Esther to knock on the door alone.

"Come in!" Abel's overly cheerful voice came through the door, it almost seemed wrong. He was always happy, but not quite like this. With out a second thought, Esther opened the door and walked in.

"Esther! I'm so glad to see you." Esther tilted her head to the side as Abel spoke to her. He was using his featherbrained façade with her again, which ultimately meant something was up.

"Abel what's going on…?" Immediately, Abel's face fell.

"I'm sorry Esther, listen, Caterina and I have devised a way to stop Cain, but…"

"But what," Esther cut him off quickly. "Abel please don't tell me you're leaving me behind!" She couldn't believe this; she had been wronged and wanted a part in the downfall of those who had brought ruin to her life.

"I'm sorry Esther. This is the only way you can be safe!" Abel said, his voice serious but slightly frantic.

"What about you! Cain _and_ Dietrich! Abel I know you are strong but y… you are not invincible!" Esther's composure flew right out the window. She could have guessed they would have pulled something like this. He may have been scared and worried for her, but what was she to do, just sit around and hope he didn't die?

"Esther! Can you fathom this feeling that you are going through!? Multiply it by fifty and you may scratch the surface of what I feel! I at least stand a chance! If they got to you do you realize they could kill you with out so much as blinking an eye?" Abel stopped his rant to calm down. "I… I can't protect you and be sure to destroy them at the same time…"

"What if they kill you?" Esther's voice was shaky.

"They won't! I promised you I would come back…." Abel reminded her gently. With that, Esther broke down into tears. Smiling gently Abel took her into his arms and she clutched at him returning the embrace just as tightly. "I will always keep my word. I won't be facing them both together. I'll have reinforcements to take care of Dietrich while I go to face Cain." His voice was gentle as he tried to sooth her. He knew that she would take this hard, but he couldn't live with himself if something happened to her while he was caught up in fighting.

Esther calmed a little but refused to loosen her grip.

"Why all the tears, I haven't even left yet." Abel said running his fingers through her hair.

"I'm sorry, I just know it's going to hurt," Esther said, history repeating itself as she looked up to him with tears still rolling down her cheeks. Only this time, the pain would not be physical from a small splinter, but emotional strain on possible heart break if anything happened to him. "Abel, I'm just worried about you…" Breathing deeply Abel rested his hand to the back of her head, holding her tightly to his chest.

"And I you, Esther. It would destroy me if something happened to you, my heart would be shattered." Abel told her, resting his chin to the top of her head. She closed her eyes trying to regain her composure.

"When do you leave?" Esther asked quietly after a few moments, having calmed down considerably.

"Late tonight," Abel said, giving no inclination that he had any intentions of letting her go.

"Then let us spend the day together," Esther suggested, seemingly perfectly content.

"That is what I had planned on." Abel smiled, finally releasing Esther and taking her by the hand. "Everything will be alright Esther."

They didn't do anything too exciting, but went for a walk outside in the courtyard and then later towards the evening through town. Esther kept up a good conversation, refusing to let herself think about what would happen tonight. Abel even had enough to get them both a decent meal, before heading back to the Vatican.

They walked hand in hand, enjoying the companionable silence between them. The sun had set and the stars came out to paint them a beautiful portrait. Once inside, Abel led Esther to her room.

"You should really get some rest, and if all goes well I will see you by this time tomorrow." Abel told her, a smile adorning his face. "Remember what you promised me?"

"Yes, I promise I will stay safe Abel."

"That's my girl,"Abel said affectionately pulling Esther into his arms and giving her one last embrace. As he pulled away, he raised his hand to cup her cheek. Her deep blues eyes never left his face as he leaned in and left a sweet kiss on her lips. Her face flushed red, but she kissed him back. Now was not the time to unleash their passions upon each other. He needed to focus and it was true, Esther was a bit tired though she didn't know she would be able to relax enough to sleep.

"I love you, Esther." Abel's voice was gentle, as he let his hand slowly slide away from her face. Esther couldn't speak, but could only feel her cheeks burning, and watch as he smiled at her and turned to leave. He was no more than ten foot away from her before she swung out the door.

"Abel!" Esther watched as his retreating form stopped and he looked at her over his shoulder. "I love you too, please come back safely." She could make out his smile as he nodded and continued back to his room.

**Author's Note:**

Long time no update. What will await Esther in the morning, or will she have to wait all day? Well I hope you enjoyed, and yes they officially stated their love for one another. A lot of fluff. Don't worry too much, I'm not that evil as to rip them apart for ever, or am I? You'll just have to wait and see. As always thank you to my reviewers and let me know what you think. Also, please forgive any errors that slip my eye.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood, or any of the other Characters.

Angels Fall First

Esther hadn't even realized she had been able to fall asleep until she woke up early the next morning. Sitting up slowly, she stretched out yawning. It was a little past nine. With a sigh, she got out of bed and straightened up a little.

Walking out of her room and down a few hallways she heard beautiful singing coming from the chapel. It sounded like the choir was up early rehearsing for the Mass at ten. They were singing an arrangement of Ave Maria. Heading towards the heavenly sound, she stopped at the chapel doors and simply watched as one of the Fathers conducted the small choir or Sisters and Brothers.

The harmony and resonance of the voices against the stone walls was so beautiful it almost brought tears to her eyes. Father Nightroad always enjoyed listening to the choir and even joining in on the singing.

"Esther, I have been looking for you." Turning, Esther watched Caterina close the distance between them. "Would you accompany me for some tea?" Smiling gratefully, Esther nodded, the voices of the choir still ringing in her ears.

It didn't take long, for Caterina to lead Esther to her office. It seemed weird to Esther that Caterina herself came for her instead of sending someone instead.

"Please sit," Caterina said having lost her harsh tone. It made Esther worry a little. The tea was already sitting out, steaming gently. After Caterina seated herself and took a cup of tea, Esther helped herself stirring in a few cubes of sugar.

"Lady Caterina, I mean no disrespect, but is there something wrong?" Esther had yet to drink the tea offered to her, she didn't want to offend Caterina, but something seemed wrong.

"Sister Esther…" Caterina began, setting her tea down on the silver tray provided. "I am not going to keep you in the dark, but I trust you not to do anything rash with this information." Esther was on the edge of her seat waiting for Caterina to continue speaking. "Dietrich has been destroyed, but things have not gone as smoothly as we would have hoped."

Esther felt the color drain from her face and her hands shook lightly; she was surprised that she hadn't spilled any tea.

"We don't know where Abel is. All we know is that he was successful in defeating Cain, but just barely as Cain's weak replacement body couldn't withstand the fight. The last we heard; Abel was injured very badly and over 80 of his nanomachines were activated. We already have a team searching for him around the vicinity of where the fight took place." Esther took a deep breath trying to control the panic that was over coming her.

"A… alright."

"I wanted to tell you personally so you wouldn't have to hear from the gossiping sisters." Caterina watched as Esther fought with herself, trying to remain composed. She feared the girl would have reacted much worse. Reaching over, Caterina placed her hand on the shaking girls shoulder. "Esther, I promise you we will do all in our power to find him."

"Thank you," Esther said as earnestly as she could. It wasn't as though she didn't appreciate what Caterina was doing, knowing that it wasn't just for the fact of finding Abel. Caterina didn't need to do this; she could have just left Esther hanging to hear about it when everyone else found out.

After a moment, Esther thanked Caterina again and excused herself heading for her room. Once inside, she closed the door and locked it firmly.

"Oh Abel, where are you," Esther whispered walking out on her balcony. The sun was rising high over head, time moved quickly with no sign of Abel from the search team.

Throughout the afternoon many people had come to knock at Esther's door, but she did not answer. If it was news about Abel they would have said so. Esther sat on the railing of her balcony, hoping to see Abel come flying to her over the trees. She had never felt more alone since… _Since the death of…_ Esther stopped herself from thinking of her adopted mother.

"Sister Esther, your presence is required." Esther vaguely picked up on Tres' mechanical voice outside of her door. "We have located Abel Nightroad." With that single phrase Esther was up in a flash and throwing the door opened.

"Take me to him!" Esther's eyes were frantic. It had taken most of the day and the sun was beginning to set. Tres said nothing more and began to lead Esther outside. Esther wanted to ask so many questions, but decided to just wait and see where Tres was leading her. When they reached the forest at the outskirts of the Vatican she began to grow weary. "Tres?"

"Mission 95 complete," Tres said a few minutes before leading her to a small clearing. In the center was a heap of black feathers and long silver hair. There were other members of AX around but none seemed brave enough to approach the figure she identified as Abel.

"What happened?" Esther looked around, highly confused. Father Leon was the first to acknowledge her.

"Father Nightroad is still in Crusnik form and doesn't seem to recognize any of us. His nanomachines are not at full capacity, but his Crusnik form is out of control lashing out at any whom approach him. He is still too weak to just take off, he went through one hell of a battle," Leon explained evenly.

"So you are hoping that I can get through to him," Esther stated.

"We hope so, if not there is nothing we can do to help him, and he is too injured to heal on his own." Leon watched as Esther nodded, giving the signal for the other members of AX to back off and give her some space. He made sure that the team assembled could still jump in quickly if need be.

Esther was shaking slightly as she walked over to Abel, hearing a low snarl from him as she approached.

"Abel, it's me," Esther said gently. She was about five foot away from him as he pushed himself off of the ground, long talons digging into the soil. His wings were hanging useless behind him, bloody and looking to be broken. His eyes were completely glazed over in crimson red, a feral look on his face. He had cuts, bruises, and bleeding wounds all over him that didn't seem to be healing.

Esther felt tears sting at the back of her eyes, but swallowed, ignoring his persistent growling and kneeled down where she stood.

"Abel d… don't you know who I am?" Esther searched his face for any recognition, but found none. _At least he's stopped snarling at me…_ Esther thought, and it was true, Abel simply continued to watch her. Slowly she reached out her hand to gently touch his shoulder, but he recoiled slightly baring his sharp pointed fangs.

"Abel please…" Esther's voice shook as she could no longer hold her tears back. Her deep blue eyes were molten with emotion as tears rolled down her cheeks. "…you promised me you would come back." Her voice cracked as she retracted her hand and covered her face with both hands, shoulders shaking as she held back her sobs.

Leon was about to instruct the other members to close in and take Esther back to safety, but stopped as a low, scratchy moan was emitted from Abel. Slowly he crawled over to her, closing the distance between them. Raising a clawed hand, he gently pulled her hands away from her face and cupped her cheek with it, careful not to hurt her.

"Abel!" Esther's eyes were wide, as his expression lost its hostility and his brow furrowed in worry and pain.

"Esther?" Abel's voice was deep and metallic, so unlike the gentle soothing one Esther was used to. She smiled, unable to stop her tears as she placed her hand over the one he held her cheek with.

"Yes, Abel it's me… it's me." Slowly his eyes faded back to their friendly blue color, and his hair once again obeyed gravity by falling down around his shoulders. His fangs retracted, and his wings disappeared in a cloud of black feathers. Esther could feel as his long claws turn back into normal human fingers against her cheek.

"Esther… I am… I am so sorry," Abel said weakly collapsing into her arms. Esther wrapped her arms around him, her tears falling into his soft hair.

"Quickly, get him to the infirmary, now!" Leon instructed the search team to get Abel taken care of. Esther watched as they took Abel away from her, unaware that she too was now not only covered with but was also sitting in a puddle of blood. She was hardly aware that Tres picked her up and carried her bridal style. She was unresponsive to those around her. "Tres; get her to the infirmary as well and make sure Sister Kate cleans her up a bit." Leon sighed as Tres initiated in his new mission, and looked around at the mess that had been made.

When Esther awoke, she was in her own room in the infirmary. She felt well rested after having done nothing but worrying for the past day. Sitting up, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Testing her feet, she stood up slowly noting that she was now in a modest cotton night gown.

Walking out into the hallway, Esther treaded silently, her bare feet making no sound on the wood floor. The only door left opened was at the end of the hallway. Hoping Abel was in that room; she crossed the distance quickly and peered slowly around the door frame. The sight that met her was upsetting. Though Abel was there, he was bandaged and unconscious, blood seeping through the white bandages.

Making her way over to him, Esther seated herself on the edge of his bed. Lifting her hand, she gently brushed his hair back out of his face.

"Oh Abel," Esther sighed, leaning down to place a light kiss on his forehead.

"Esther," Abel murmured her name weakly as he opened his eyes half way. A relieved smile came across his face as Esther smiled and took his hand. "I'm so glad… so glad you are here."

"Of course I'm here. How do you feel?" Esther knew he wouldn't be feeling wonderful, but just asked to make sure he wasn't in too much pain.

"I will be alright now that you are with me," Abel said closing his eyes again, but giving her hand a gentle squeeze to let her know he was still awake. Esther continued to smile gently giving him a soft kiss on the lips and settling down in a chair still holding on to his hand.

Abel smiled, taking a deep breath.

"I love you Esther," Abel said tiredly, falling back into unconsciousness.

"I love you too Abel." Esther kept smiling as she folded her arms on the bed and rested her head on them.

**Author's Note:**

My skill at writing fight scenes still isn't that wonderful, and I like to leave such things to the mind of my readers. It's the end of Cain, as far as you know, and I figure I'll end this in the next chapter. There may be a sequel, depends on my creativity and if a suitable story line comes to mind. I have a few others to finish so probably not until I have completed those. As always thank you to all my _**KIND**_ reviewers, let me know what you think. Considering hibiki96 was the only review I received for my chapter five, this chapter was for you. I felt the need to stress the word kind as I have received my first flame. I would hate to disable anonymous reviews for those who may not have an account, but if it persists then I have no choice; and I apologize to those who wish to leave an honest review. I didn't want t have to ask this, but apparently it needs to be stated that no flames will be accepted. Anyway, please forgive any errors that slip my eye.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Trinity Blood

This Moment is Eternity

"So this is where you've run off to Esther," Sister Kate said with a smile walking in on Esther almost asleep at Abel's bedside.

"Oh, Sister Kate I just…" Esther sat up, trying to explain herself.

"Don't worry Esther it's quite alright. I only came to make sure this is in fact where you had wandered to, and to change Father Nightroad's bandages."

"Oh, can I help?" Esther stood slowly, a small smile on her face.

Sister Kate instructed Esther to get her some clean bandages and together they re-wrapped Abel's wounds.

"The blood finally seems to be clotting up. Those were some pretty nasty wounds. This is a good sign, I'm sure now that he will be just fine," Sister Kate said.

"That's so good to hear," Esther replied looking truly relieved. With a smile, Sister Kate left the room to leave the two alone. After a few minutes Abel stirred from his slumber. Esther wondered how he slept through the bandage changing, but the thought left her as Abel opened his eyes smiling at her.

"Esther," Abel said, watching as she crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed. Esther smiled to him sweetly, that same smile that so easily melted his heart.

"How are you Abel?"

"I will be alright." Slowly, Abel pulled Esther down to him holding her gently. "I missed doing this… just holding you in my arms." Still smiling, Esther wrapped her arms around him gently.

"I was so worried about you," Esther said, resting her chin lightly on his shoulder. "So is this it, is Cain gone?" Abel sighed into her hair still holding her to him.

"I believe so; there is no way his weak replacement body could withstand the final blow." Abel smiled, kissing the top of her head. "Silly girl, did you really believe I would leave you?"

"For a moment there I wasn't sure, when you were in your Crusnik form, and you didn't know me," Esther said sadly.

"It may not have seemed like it, but I remember the dark haze. Though I couldn't place it, I knew you. I would know you anywhere," Abel told her gently. "Your voice guided me out of the darkness." Esther sighed contentedly as she lay down and curled up to his side. The infirmary bed was hardly big enough for this, but Abel didn't complain as Esther was very careful of his wounds.

Esther looked up to Abel. His hair was sprawled out underneath him, and his glasses were no where to be found. Smiling, Esther closed her eyes as Abel lightly stroked her hair.

Neither wanted to speak or move. This moment was perfect, just the two of them. It was much like the morning after Abel had saved her from Dietrich and Cain, only now their affections were fully realized.

"What do we do now?" It was Esther who broke the silence, lifting her head to look at him. Abel was leaning back on the pillows, eyes closed, with a serene smile on his face.

"Well my dear Esther, I believe you and I are to live happily ever after with this new found peace." Abel didn't stir nor open his eyes. "What do you say to that?"

"Oh, Abel, that sounds wonderful." Esther smiled brightly and leaned up to kiss him lightly. Her face fell slightly when Abel opened his eyes to look at her. "What about AX? I mean this may be done for right now, but what…" Abel silenced her by gently placing his finger over her lips.

"Have some faith in me, Esther," Abel said with mock offense, a featherbrained smile adorning his face. "Whatever comes our way, we can work through it together. I promise I'll take care of you…" Esther stared at him with worry, but it quickly faded into a heart warming smile. It had been awhile since she felt so safe.

"I'll take care of you too Abel," Esther said sweetly, earning an honest smile from him.

"Then I can't see what we could possibly have to worry about. If I have you and you have me…"

"Then we will be just fine." Esther finished for him, letting her head rest on his shoulder again.

"That's right," Abel said still smiling.

Short but Sweet Epilogue:

The days went by slowly with out the excitement of fighting. Abel was making a full recovery from his injuries; Esther was making sure of that. Within a few weeks they went back to completing missions. Abel and Esther were inseparable, often times pairing up with Tres. They had their little squabbles now and then mostly about Abel's clumsiness, but they always made amends quickly.

It would seem that things were going well for the couple. Every time a new problem arose they took care of it quickly, and moved on. Neither knew what the next mission might bring, but with Cain and Dietrich out of the picture, they knew they could make it through together.

**Author's note:**

Okay, only the second fic I've completed the whole way through with out it being a one shot or something. I'd like to thank all of my reviewers who have either been there with me the whole (or most of) the way or have just recently decided to speak their opinions. It has meant a lot to me through writing this story and encouraging for future stories. So, again, thank you all so much, it really did mean a lot to me. As always let me know what you thought, I know it was short, but I was just wrapping things up and leaving it more open ended in the case of a sequel. I hope you've enjoyed and will stay tuned to read more of my stories.

Much love,

Anri


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